Ex-Marine accused in 6 killings dies in California jail

A former Marine who was awaiting trial in the deaths of six people, including four homeless men, died after ingesting Ajax in his jail cell, his attorney said Friday.

Itzcoatl Ocampo, 25, apparently accumulated the cleaning product over time while in custody, said his attorney, Michael Molfetta, who was briefed on the death. The incident raises serious questions about how well Orange County jail deputies were supervising Ocampo, who had mental health issues, Molfetta said.

Ocampo was found shaking and vomiting in his single-man cell Wednesday and taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon, police said.

Prosecutors alleged that Ocampo, a native of Mexico, stabbed four homeless men in late 2011 and early 2012.

— Associated Press

ALABAMA

Ex-Klan chief charged in cross burning

A onetime Ku Klux Klan leader is charged with burning a cross in a mostly black neighborhood in southeast Alabama.

The Justice Department said Steven Joshua Dinkle, 28, was indicted on charges of conspiring to violate housing rights, criminally interfering with housing rights, using a fire to commit a felony and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors said Dinkle is the former exalted Cyclops of a KKK chapter in Ozark. He is accused of burning a cross in a black neighborhood in Ozark in 2009 to intimidate residents.

Dinkle was arrested Wednesday in Mississippi. His mother, Pamela Morris, 45, is charged with committing perjury before a grand jury that investigated the case.

— Associated Press

ILLINOIS

Pit bull buried in storm’s rubble is free

A six-month-old pit bull that was buried under a pile of rubble for more than a week after a tornado ripped through Washington, Ill., has been coaxed to freedom with hot dogs and reunited with his owner.

Jacob Montgomery, a member of the Illinois National Guard, was separated from Dexter when the Nov. 17 tornado destroyed his apartment in Washington.

Nine days after the storm, a neighbor who was looking for his cat with the help of a group called Rescuing Animals in Need informed Montgomery that Dexter had been found partially buried in debris where the apartment used to stand. The dog was in relatively good shape.